Achieving Operational Excellence

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Administrative Services is committed to identifying, analyzing
and improving our existing business processes to
create greater efficiencies and cost savings, leading to
high levels of service to students, faculty and staff.

Business Process and Systems Improvements

Business process improvement is aimed at identifying the
operations or employee skills that could be improved to encourage
smoother procedures, more efficient workflow and overall business
growth. Several projects are planned or are
underway.

Business Services

Strategic Procurement

Project Description

Implement the Jaggaer (formerly SciQuest) procure-to-pay
solution. This solution provides an Amazon-style purchasing
experience for the requistioner and will result in:

Reduced time in both the procurement and payment
processes.

Reduced cycle time from requisition to delivery.

Immediate feedback to the requisitioner regarding availability
and shipment.

Improved on-time delivery.

Provide requisitioners with the ability to easily track their
orders.

Provide product and pricing comparisons for the
requisitioner.

Target Audience

Campus requisitioners

Procurement Services buyers

Accounts Payable staff

Timeline

Pre-implementation: January 2017 — April 2017

Implementation of Procure-to-Pay, Spend Analytics, Sourcing
Director and Total Contract Manager: April 2017 — December
2017

Guiding Principles

Adapt business processes to permit use of the software without
customization.

Facilitate strategic sourcing through the use of the improved
data reporting.

Provide requisitioners with improved capacity to identify
sources of supply and comparatively shop.

Capitalize on the combined purchasing power of the collective
SUNY campuses.

Be able to provide requisitioners with user accessible 24/7
support through on-line help and training.

Standardize the procurement and payment business processes
across SUNY campuses.

Demonstrate the solution's applicability across the Western
Region campuses for future roll-out across all SUNY campuses.

E-Travel

Project Description

Implement the Concur Request and Expense system, in conjunction
with travel agency The Travel Team's Concur Travel module. This
solution provides end users with the option to fully automate their
travel and expense process, and will result in:

Reduced time in both the expense reporting and reimbursement
processes

SIRI Enhancements

Project Description

Develop a dashboard in SIRI (the university's business
intelligence reporting and analysis platform) delivering summarized
information to academic chairs on various data pertinent to their
department. These data areas include:

Financial

Human resources

Student

Research

Philanthropy

Procurement

Space

Target Audience

The Academic Chair dashboard in SIRI is intended to be used by
academic chairs and the assistants to the chair in all academic
departments across campus. Assistant and associate deans and
business officers in the decanal units will also benefit from these
reports and analyses.

Timeline

The Academic Chair dashboard has been piloted in the academic
departments of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as their
dean's office.

This dashboard was also demonstrated to the Unit Business
Officers at their February 2016 meeting.

The SIRI team is now in the process of making this dashboard
available to all academic areas across the campus.

Guiding Principles

The guiding principle for this project is to deliver the
appropriate level of detail to the academic chairs. Too much
information will result in confusion and information overload while
not enough detail limits the utility to the chair.

Project Team

Project leader:
Thomas Okon, Business Reporting and Systems

Project committee:
Laurie Barnum, Resource Planning
Donna Czaja, Business Reporting and Systems
Joseph Kerr, College of Arts and Sciences
Andrea Wiepert, College of Arts and Sciences

Human Resources

UB EDGE (Learning Management System)

Project Description

UB EDGE (Employees Develop Grow and Engage) is a learning
management system, a platform for faculty and staff to administer,
document, track, report and deliver learning and performance
activities in a central online solution. UB EDGE is a unified
system with a user-friendly experience, allowing an individual to
easily incorporate learning activities into their performance plans
and daily work experience.

Target Audience

All full-time faculty and staff.

Timeline

Currently being utilized (went live in May 2016)

Next phase to include performance programs and competency
library availablity (planned for 2018).

Guiding Principles

Facilitate UB to become a learning organization.

Promote individual development planning.

Connect key competency (knowledge, skills, attributes)
development for all employees.

Promote supervisory focus on team and individual
development.

Provide a community for employees to be able to interact with
ongoing learning and development.

Human Resources Business Processes

Project Description

Look to simplify and improve the current ePTF process. The goal
is to have HR move away from data entry work (entering information
submitted by ePTF and then entering into the SUNY HR System) and
having department level transactions in the form of an improved
ePTF - follow a workflow with review by HR - and then directy hit
the SUNY HR system. UB will need to work directly with the IT
support at SUNY to make sure the new ePTF matches directly field to
field when uploaded.

Target Audience

All departments that interact with ePTF transactions connected
with all life and work events at UB during the life cycle of
employees.

Timeline

Effort of redesign to start March 2017 with the goal of an
intended solution to be implemented to begin the 2018-19 fiscal
year.

Guiding Principles

Make the process simple, improve the workflow, increase
efficiencies for departments and HR and remove the need for paper
transactions.

Relocation Services

Project Description

Build a comprehensive and consistent service to assist new
employees coming to UB when they relocate from outside of the
area.

Engage an external company to manage and facilitate a process
for UB (moving, coordination of visits, real estate, travel,
etc.).

Conducted initial information gathering sessions with
organizations that specialize in this service to help us identify
what to place in an RFP to go out in Spring of 2017.

The goal is for Human Resources to be the coordinator of the
program and to provide this as a service that would not require
immediate charge back to departments if they stay within parameters
of the designed program.

Target Audience

Target audience includes all units that hire individuals from
outside the area. The request for proposal (RFP) process and the
program design will indicate if there are existing levels for
assistance depending upon level of role in the organization.

Timeline

RFP is scheduled for late Spring 2017 with a goal of offering
the service beginning 2018.

Guiding Principles

Save overall costs.

Provide a consistent and high quality service and experience
for all new employees recruited to UB.

Project Team

UB Jobs Upgrade

Project Description

Move to the new cloud-based version of UB Jobs (PeopleAdmin). UB
Jobs is the applicant tracking and search process system for UB.
The system has been long overdue for an upgrade. This new version
of UB Jobs will:

Have a modern user interface.

Offer more options for the search process.

Provide an easier and more robust reporting capability.

Provide an opportunity for HR to partner with the Vice Provost
for Equity and Inclusion office to enhance and improve the search
process for UB as a key element of UB's Commitment to Inclusive
Excellence Strategic Plan - as connected to SUNY's overall
strategic approach to diversity and inclusion.

Target Audience

Target audience includes all individuals and groups (State, RF,
UBF, faculty and staff) that interact and work within recruitment
and the search and selection process for talent to join UB.

Timeline

Upgrade to new version to be completed March 2017. New search
process changes and improvements to be phased in over 2 years.

Guiding Principles

Improve the search and selection process with a direct focus on
connecting to UB's Commitment to Inclusive Excellence Staretgic
Plan.

Project Team

Project committee:Academic unit membership:Kristin Gniazdowski, School of Pharmacy
Joe Kerr/Nancy Recupero College of Arts and Sciences
Bill Mcdonnell, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Mike Redfern, School of Public Health and Health Professions

Business Plans for Leased Properties

Project Description

The Real Estate and Resource Planning committee consists of
members from Real Estate, Resource Planning, Business Services and
Facilities who are collaborating to create business plans for
leased properties. The business plans include ten-year forecasts of
revenue and expenses for each building.

Establishing a portfolio of business plans for leased properties
will allow for a comprehensive evaluation of properties and
facilitate the identification of efficiencies, savings and areas in
need of investment.

Other areas of improvement achieved by the committee include the
development of a property management dashboard in SIRI to
streamline reporting for leased properties and a full review of
facilities cost rates charged to properties.

Target Audience

Senior leadership

Timeline

The leased properties budget is developed and approved annually
and reviewed quarterly as part of the Central University Budget
during the university's Annual Resource Planning Process.

Guiding Principles

Senior administrators, faculty and staff should have easy,
well-supported electronic access to the data and information
necessary to perform and manage their university functions, thereby
eliminating the need to create shadow and supplemental systems.

For every budget, planning and forecasting-related process, we
will:

Identify the customers of the process.

Work with customers to determine their real needs.

Strive to provide them with outstanding customer service.

We will treat information as a strategic asset that is:

Commonly defined.

Electronically captured once at its point of origin.

Appropriately shared across the entire institution.

We will become an institution that makes data-based decisions
through the use of easy-to-use management reporting processes and
technologies.

We will collaboratively develop common business processes and
data across the entire institution, while still supporting the
truly unique and compelling needs of our academic and academic
support units.

Customizations to the new system will be kept to an absolute
minimum. Any request for a customization will be subject to a
thorough business case review to justify its necessity.

We will establish decision due dates to keep our projects on
time and on budget. If these due dates are not met, the delayed
decision will immediately be escalated and made by the appropriate
decision maker. The project will then move on.

We will work as a silo-free team to solve the problems
of our students, faculty, staff and institution.

University Facilities

Rehab Process Remapping and Redesign

Project Description

University Facilities is developing a streamlined process to
complete rehab and capital projects. The new methodology will
ensure ease of use for clients, use an integrated team approach to
project delivery and reduce project cycle time.

Multi-Year Utilities Planning

Project Description

A team of members from Facilities, Business Services and
Resource Planning work together to create a multi-year utilities
budget. The rolling 5-year financial plan has helped the university
minimize commodity costs, prepare for volatility in energy prices
and meet environmental stewardship goals by implementing energy
conservation projects. By managing the utilities budget at a
central level, fiscal risk is reduced, shortfalls are covered by
the university, and surpluses are reinvested in the university.

Target Audience

Senior leadership

Timeline

Utilities budget is developed and approved annually and reviewed
quarterly as part of the Central University Budget during the
university's Annual Resource Planning Process.

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“Achieving operational excellence across the university
enables UB to simplify processes and redefine policies in ways that
maintain the quality of instruction, further enhance our
students’ experiences and expand and strengthen faculty
research.”

Laura E. Hubbard, Vice President for Finance and
Administration

Project Updates

Rehab Process Remapping and Redesign — As of July
7, UB community members may now enter all facilities work
requests, such as space requests, rehab requests and code reviews,
directly into the web-based work order system at http://www.buffalo.edu/facilities.html or
by calling Facilities Customer Service at 716-645-2025. Posted
8/3/17

Relocation Services — The RFP is now
advertised in the New York State Contract Reporter. Responses
are due back for the bid opening on 8/24. After the bids are
opened, they'll be evaluated with a decision rendered no later than
120 days after bid opening. Posted 8/3/17

Strategic Procurement — Focus Group 1 is
scheduled for August 8 – 9 and is the first opportunity to
verify new workflow decisions set for implementation. Workflow is
the electronic implementation of decisions that will route a
shopping cart from a shopper, to a purchase requisition for
the requester, to one or many approvers based on the
commodity being ordered, funding source and dollar thresholds, and
ultimately to a purchase order that will be electronically
distributed to the supplier. Posted 7/21/17

Project Updates Archive

SIRI — Resource Planning and Business Services
staff are scheduled to deliver the SIRI Academic Chair
dashboard to two additional schools: School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences and School of Dental Medicine. Academic
support leadership have inquired about getting a similar dashboard
created for department heads. Discussions are ongoing. Posted
6/16/2017

E-Travel — A business plan is in place to pay
for travel agency fees when using the Concur Travel tool;
departments will not have to pay travel agency fees when using
Concur to book travel from travel agency The Travel
Team. Posted 6/16/2017

Strategic Procurement — eProcurement/AP module
design and build step is planned for completion in November 2017,
ending with a go-live for pilot testing between January and March
2018. Sourcing Director and Total Contract Manager modules are
slated for August 2017, ending with a go-live for pilot testing
between October 2017 and January 2018. Posted 6/16/2017

UPlan — An in-depth survey, called
Requirements Activity, was sent to select participants to give an
opportunity to rate the importance of and comment on elements of a
potential system. The project team is
using DecisionDirector, a project collaboration
tool, to gather the detailed feedback. Posted 5/17/2017

Rehab Process — University Facilities will be
conducting consultation meetings with FPMOs and internal Facilities
staff in May. The soft launch is still scheduled for
June. Posted 4/25/2017

UB Jobs — The upgraded UB Jobs site went live
to applicants on 3/07/2017 and to the campus on 3/10/2017, giving a
more modern view, easier access for applicants, better security for
HR users and more personalized views that were not possible from
the old version. Posted 4/03/2017